Kale Chips

It’s arguable whether Paris is a “cutting edge” city. With a rich culinary tradition, change comes slowly (and sometimes requires a little coaxing), and the arrival of kale is no exception.

Although we can now get kale sporadically in Paris, thanks to The Kale Project, I was fortunate when a friend came to Paris bearing the fruits (or leaves) of crinkly denseness. In a “be careful what you wish for” moment, I’d overdosed on kale when it became available at my ruche, because I just couldn’t help myself from buying any and all of it, fearing I’d never see it again. Yet as much as I like it, it was a bit of a hard-sell with Parisian friends who weren’t as enthused about the tough, rugged greens sautéed in garlic and chili flakes, as I was.

Still, it’s a treat to have kale in my kitchen again. So like my stashes of maple syrup, a bacon-flavored chocolate bar (which is still unopened), and Altoids, I’m not so anxious to share the bounty that arrived to those anyone who doesn’t share my enthusiasm. And that included my kale chips, which were a craze that swept across America but aren’t exactly quite ready to be added to the canon of French cuisine.

My friend Val Aikman-Smith, one of my kale-porters, who is the author of Smoke & Spice, was in my kitchen with me. And she decided to make a batch of kale chips, since I’d never had them.

I had a few other Californians around that day and although it seems like everything in France is a topic of debate, one debate I thought I would never hear in France is about how to make kale chips. Most of the discussion focused on oven temperature. And the California consensus was that a very hot oven, 425ºF (218ºC), was the best.

However I made another batch after they left (since kale just keeps on growing and growing – for some reason, the bag in the refrigerator just refused to shrink), baking them at a mellower 350ºF (180ºC), and they kept their green color and shape a little better. So score another one for the softer temperatures, and slow-cooking that la cuisine française is known for.

After the kale chips were washed and spun dry, she drizzled some olive oil over the cleaned kale and roasted them off in my oven. Once out of the oven, she salted them with flaky sea salt then offered them up to me. They were delicious – and I was eyeing a packet of French red pepper salt that I have on hand for the next batch. Well, once I finish off the kale chips that I have. With my tub of kale chip, I’ve tried to get the locals to indulge but there hasn’t been the same enthusiasm for them as me and my fellow Americans have, even with the enticement of a little vin rouge alongside.

Kale Chips

Print Recipe

About sixservings

Remove the tough stems from the kale and wash and spin dry the kale thoroughly. This recipe can easily be doubled. Just be sure to rotate the baking sheets in the oven for even cooking.As mentioned, some people cook them at a higher temperature, California-style, which makes a crunchier, drier kale chip than those cooked at lower temperatures. I like them both ways. If you wish to roast them in a 425ºF (218ºC) oven, they’ll take about 12 minutes to cook.

6 to 8cups (140 to 200g) kale leaves; if large, tear them into bite-sized pieces

1tablespoonolive oil

flaky sea salt or fleur de sel

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC.)

2. Put the kale on a baking sheet and drizzle with the olive oil, then massage it into the leaves.

3. Spread the kale leaves in an even layer on the baking sheet and put in the oven. After about 5 minutes, use a spatula to separate any leaves of kale that are clumping together.

4. Continue cooking the kale for about 20 minutes, until the leaves are crisp. Remove from the oven and sprinkle fairly generously with salt.

88 comments

I got it from my friend who sold salt at the Richard Lenoir/Bastille market, whose business was bought by someone else. Am not sure if the new fellow sells it or not. If you want to make it, it’s 80% salt, 20% red pepper powder (you can use any that you like – am not sure what was used in this one.)

Katie

June 4, 2013 12:30pm

I made kale chips awhile back and everyone in my household and beyond looked at me like I was from outer space when I offered them a bite. I thought they tasted a little like very fresh potato chips only 100x’s better, plus kale chips must be insanely good for you. I think I’m going to make them again — who cares if I’m the mad woman sitting in a corner eating her crazy greens…

I`m hardly able to find kale here, and I doubt it will become a thing anytime soon. But I`ll trade you the bag of sal de guerande for them if I ever find any. That is something I would like to have in my kitchen at all times!

Allyn

June 4, 2013 1:36pm

I adore kale in any fashion . . . it’s been quite a while since I made kale chips, but your post reminds me that I must make them again soon!

Caroline

June 4, 2013 1:40pm

I will have to agree with the Parisians on that one..I find kale rather disappointing. I couldn’t find any for a long time. Suddenly it was everywhere and I started trying all the kale recipes I had saved. I didn’t like any of them unfortunately. I made different recipes for kale chips and didn’t like that either. Yours chips looks delicious but I have to face the fact that kale is just not for me.

Well, all of what’s been grown here so far has been curly kale, which is kind of the least-interesting kinds of kale. (But hey, no complaining – we’ve got kale!) Am hoping that eventually we’ll have other kinds of kale…and greens! I prompted Kristen of The Kale Project to lobby for rainbow chard next…

The salt man was my favorite person at the Richard Lenoir market when I stayed in Paris in 2010! He had tremendous patience with my rotten French. I still have tucked away packages of his salt w/seaweed and salt w/rose petals.

Daniela

June 4, 2013 3:18pm

Red pepper salt sounds amazing! I’ve been making kale chips for a while and I too have found that my favorite temperature is lower. I bake them at 300 F and find that they are dry and krisp without too many burnt edges. Also, I found that when I baked at high temperatures the chips wilted when stored. At lower temps, they stay krisp for a couple of days. ( although seriously, I’ve been known to eat a whole batch myself in one sitting). I usually use ghee for a buttery flavor in place of olive oil. And always flavor them with lemon juice. Sometimes I add cayenne or garlic powder. I tried making the chips with collard greens and found them too tough. Chard also works, and Brussels sprout leaves come out amazing, but kale is still my favorite.

Franko

June 4, 2013 3:42pm

i make them with oil, soy sauce, and sesame seeds. SO GOOD.

Liz

June 4, 2013 3:52pm

I use cayenne pepper, and it works splendidly.

kayhag

June 4, 2013 4:19pm

I have also found (the hard way) that less-is-more in terms of oil, to insure crispiness, and in terms of salt, to showcase kale-ness. Yum.

We absolutely love kale chips in my house and that’s pretty much the only way we eat it! I too have issues with its tough leaves when you sauté but they are different when baked. Lately I bake them first and then add them to the stews or as a garnish to dishes. Glad you liken them too! I sure like the look of that red pepper salt.

So glad you’ve got kale, David. With a little bit of experimenting, I’ve found that my favorite kale chips bake even longer and slower: 1 hour at 225 degrees. Evenly crisp all the way through and they stay that way.

Daniela: I actually like the high-temperature ones and found them super crisp, but you definitely need to watch them and they don’t hold their color as well as they do at lower temperatures.

Jamie: Régis was great but wanted to spend more time with his family. He told me he was at the market in Aulnay-Sous-Bois on Sundays, but I’ve not made it out there. (And that was a year or so ago, so don’t know if he is still there.) One day I helped him at the market here in Paris and we almost sold out of all his salt! : )

Annabel: The great chefs/cooks Nigel Slater and Yotam Ottolenghi in England have some great-sounding recipes that use kale, if you’re looking to experiment.

kayhag: My friend Val used more oil than I did. She didn’t measure, but it looked to be nearly twice as much. I did find a good amount of salt made them taste better, but that’s something folks can always do “to taste.”

I had a marvelous kale salad at Mozza in LA, as a chopped salad—all those unruly leaves in eighth-inch slices—with a profusion of garlic and olive oil and lemon and some pepper flakes. Try that on your French amis.

catherine

June 4, 2013 4:46pm

Kale chips are even better with NO oil and better for you! We have had them for years here in Calif. The sea salt even adhered well. Plus they keep forever and you can crush them on top of other salads such as carrot. Delish! Why the drenching with oil is beyond me….

Nywoman

June 4, 2013 4:49pm

Kale is such a wonderful versatile vegetable. Apart from making crisps, which is probably my least favorite, I make a lot off salads and sautees. The secret to the salad, whichever drressing and other ingredients you use is to remove the stalk, chop the kale and massage it, with the dressing, for several minutes to break down the fibers. Delish

For the past two months, I’ve been preparing kale chips, kale pesto and raw kale salads at a new espresso bar in the Marais (Loustic). I will say that the French are taking to kale in all forms. It’s a daily challenge but so far so good! Thanks for the shout-out David and don’t worry, rainbow chard is on my radar ; )

Nancy

June 4, 2013 5:14pm

I love this idea, being a garden cook, myself. However, since I live in the “combrousse”, I don’t see a future for kale in the grocery stores here.. I would have to grow my own and haven’t noticed any seeds, either. I guess I’ll have to stick with topinambour chips.

Marianne

June 4, 2013 5:19pm

Thanks for the recipe for kale chips! I’d read about their recent international fame but they haven’t reached Sweden yet. Kale is traditional, though, there is even a Swedish Kale Academy for aficionados. http://web.comhem.se/sven.gustafsson/gronkal/gronkal5.htm I grow it, sowed the seed only a week ago, and now I know what to do with them when I’ve cooked the traditional Christmas dishes. Kale is a winter crop and can be harvested under snow.

lexie

June 4, 2013 5:23pm

A good tip for kale if you’re eating it uncooked (it can be kind of tough!) is to chop it finely and marinate it in lemon, olive oil and sea salt for a while. This really starts to break down the tough texture and it tastes gorgeous on its own in this marinade or chuck in whatever you have to hand…olives, chilli, garlic, herbs.

I am very thankful for this posting. I love Kale chips but have thought the only way to get them was to buy very expensive packaged ones. I thought there must be some special mystery to making them. Wow! Now I can have all I want. Thanks David!

Patricia

June 4, 2013 6:10pm

A wonderful way to make kale chips that keeps them in the raw foods category is to bake (dehydrate, really) in a 140 degree F oven for 40-45 minutes. Little risk of burning, and they come out jusy as crisp as at the high temp.

Laurel

June 4, 2013 6:48pm

Huge fan of kale chips. We decided on 300 degrees F for the right crispness. They take about 18 minutes that way. We riff on Heidi Swanson’s idea and make a mixture of a bit of oil and soy sauce to rub into the kale, plus a generous handful or two of large, unsweetened coconut flakes. So savory amd more-ish! We like Tuscan/black/Dino/lacinato kale best for chips but any kale is definitely better than no kale!

David, try sprinkling them with cumin (ground or seeds) and a little smoked paprika in the last few minutes, along with the salt. Divine!

And I am totally with you on the slow oven. I tried both ways too, and I find that the hotter oven doesn’t make them any crisper and increases the likelihood you’ll brown them, which makes them bitter. The really difficult part is if you have to wash the kale – it really needs to be bone dry when you put it in the oven or else it will wilt instead of crisping up.

Juliet

June 4, 2013 7:18pm

I follow the recipe from I think, Jacques Pépin, (one of his Fast Food books) – 250 degrees, takes about 1/2 hour and they need to be stirred at some point to make sure they’re all crispy, – they stay quite green, and I feel like I’m preserving more of the nutritional value. Love kale!

Despite having a blog called The Kale Chronicles, originally based on cooking through the seasons and now morphing into tales of artistic poverty, despite writing that blog and being a native Californian I have never made or eaten a kale chip. I’ll rectify that some day. Usually I throw kale into African peanut soup where it blends with the sweet potatoes, tomato and peanut butter, or blanch it and make it into a salad with a lemon and tahini-based dressing.

Genie

June 4, 2013 7:40pm

Mustard greens and collards work wonderfully too!

Ashley

June 4, 2013 7:46pm

Oh, gosh we love kale chips at our house. My kids will gobble them up as fast as I can make them. There are lots of great variations. We bake at 325 for 10-12 minutes and like them tossed with grated Reggiano. I toss the olive oil (and cheese and/or lemon and/or garlic, etc.) with the kale in a bowl for better distribution than drizzling. I also like to chop up a bit of kale and toss it into an appropriate soup or a reheated bit of leftover lentils or beans. I am growing some kale for the first time and, to my surprise, find it amazingly good just snatched off the plant and stuffed into my mouth. Not tough at all. Perhaps the leaves toughen up on their way from field to store?

Agree about the lower temp, I tried to increase the temp higher than the recipe I was following suggested and reduce the time but ended up preferring how they tasted when the temperature was a little lower!

And you should see how many kale chip varieties are at your local US Whole Foods….parmesan spices, chili, and even weird sweet ones with goji berry powder or what have you….It’s gone too far.

Charlotte

June 5, 2013 12:02am

Kale chips are the best thing ever. My favorite kale has to be the lacinato kale. I think it’s also called dinosaur or tuscan kale. However, when it comes to kale chips I don’t discriminate :-)

I love mustard greens! I’ve not seen them in any markets in Paris, but there are fields (and fields) of colza that grow around Paris that I know friends pick and eat. (They’re grown for oil and likely heavily sprayed, so I’ve been reluctant to try them myself.) Must find an organic field to pillage! : )

Pbfperkins

June 5, 2013 1:11am

I’m with the slow cook/low temperature kale chip cookers! Definitely better color and crispness. Also a very light touch with the olive oil and massage it into the leaves. Then when they are done I sprinkle them with Kosher salt. My grandkids –even those who don’t normally like green veggies devour them. I never seem to make enough for leftovers. Sometimes the bowl doesn’t even make it to the dining table if the noshers get to it first.

Another way to cook kale the way they do collard greens in the South– again, long and slow with a bit of vinegar, a hot pepper in the pot and maybe a bit of bacon or ham or smoked turkey. If the leaves are young and tender, I also like it chopped up — rib removed — into a salad. And of course the Italians use it in soups with lots of other veggies and sometimes also with beans — and here I find that it needs to be cut up not just into strips, but then cross cut as well so the texture doesn’t get stringy, but the flavor is a great balance to the sweetness of the root vegetables such as carrots and onions.

A few years back we went through a phase of tons of kale chips while living in Calgary. Now living in Penticton, BC in Canada’s Okanagan, our farmers markets are amazing and lovely, delicate and organic kale is so readily available, we’re back on the bus! I find if I put the kale in a bowl to do the drizzling of olive oil and spicing before I put them on the baking trays, I use less olive oil and the distribution is much more even. Now I’ll have to see if I can find something similar here to that French red pepper salt!

deedee

June 5, 2013 2:02am

I’ve never tasted kale because i’ve never known how to cook it. Like many others vegetables. My mother was a terrific cook and before she turned vegetalienne she tried to teach me how to cook Vietnamese food but at that time I wasn’t interested in spending time in the kitchen. And now I can only blame myself for not knowing how to cook a single Vietnamese dish. or any other dish. even kale. 3 years ago, in my search of Vietnamese recipes I found your viet pork ribs post, tried it and was happy with the result and I read all ur posts ever since. And cooked a lot of your recipes. And I will definitely try those kale chips.

Sarahb1313

June 5, 2013 3:30am

So there is clearly something about roasting vegetables…. Kale, Brussel sprouts, broccoli…

I have converted my spouse, the pickiest child on the planet, and many of the children I work with. Something about the texture, the flavor, the seasoning options!

My all time favorite is seasoning is Ras-el-hanout tossed with the veggies- sweet, spicy, aromatic!!

But I would LOVE to try that salt!!

epb

June 5, 2013 4:29am

I also bake my kale chips (dinosaur kale being my personal favorite) on a much lower temp, 200 degrees F, for about an hour, sometimes longer, definitely more dehydrated than baked. I also slather / massage them with good quality olive oil + garlic powder and onion powder. Once they’re spread on jelly roll pans I sprinkle with sea salt. I’ve wanted to try other seasonings — anything is possible and probably quite delicious — but I really like my onion and garlic.Easy-peasy.

david

June 5, 2013 4:47am

So….I just booked my trip to Paris for a week in September.my first time there.. can you make a posting of all the thing I must do while I am there!!!! I am so excited to go!!! :-)

The “kale chip” craze has hit Sydney, Australia with a vengeance. We can get kale here really easily and it’s very cheap.

Janet Catesby

June 5, 2013 6:52am

Yes here in Australia Kale is very easy to find AND to grow. Right now in my garden (boast boast) here on the mid north Coast of New South Wales, I have Tuscan Kale, Curly Kale, Russian Kale as well as lots of other greens too. My favourite is the Tuscan Kale which is has a darker leaf and is not so curly and tough as the others, but they all make GREAT chips! I add them to soups, stir fry’s, and when they had just started sprouting in the garden, as I thinned out the rows, we ate the excess in salads. So good for you. When the season ends, I will let the chooks into that section to finish them off. Cheers David still loving your escapades.

That’s weird because here in Galicia (northwest Spain), kale is everywhere, but it’s just kind of mixed in with all of the other greens that are ubiquitous here…it’s not really touted as any kind of superfood or anything. Come over here and we’ll give you all the kale you want!

Issa

June 5, 2013 10:58am

I’m so surprised that kale is not widely available nor appreciated in Paris. I was exposed to kale long before it became mainstream through working in Italian kitchens. We would use cavolo nero (dinosaur kale) in ribollita, all sorts of other soups, as a simple contorno, or long-cooked with onions or garlic and tossed with pasta (and topped with some breadcrumbs). I’m sure long cooked kale sounds like an abomination to the raw foodists… but I love it! It’s a very different flavor profile from raw or lightly cooked. I do do the green smoothie in the morning with cavolo nero or red Russian kale and also finely julienne the leaves for salads. Had a great variation with a lemon-chili vinaigrette and pecorino shavings at Animal in Los Angeles years ago. I also like a kale salad with sieved egg and a sherry-mustard vinaigrette. The fewer ingredients, the more you can appreciate the flavor no matter the application. Glad you posted this recipe for those not in the know… I always feel like telling the people paying $6-8 dollars for a very small bag of kale chips, “Nooooo! Stop. You can make these yourself for a fraction of the cost!”.

@Issa; GRAZIE, THANKS – I have been haunted since yesterday because of this ‘kale’ post – I somehow just knew that I ‘knew’ kale before my stay in England – and now you’ve given me the input I needed…. I knew it as cavolo (nero) when I stayed in Florence for a month…. rented a flat with a friend and bought everything at a tiny greengrocer-cum-have-it-all-including-wine shop in our street and gorged ourselves with this lovely nutty veg…. Thanks, thanks, thanks :)

Steve

June 5, 2013 5:05pm

I’m surprised to read that you have no rainbow chard. What goes into tourte aux blettes? Just the white-stemmed variety? I’ll readily concede the superiority of French cuisine (for my tastes anyway) but I believe we have better raw ingredients around here.

Andie

June 5, 2013 5:56pm

David, you have to try sprinkling the baked kale chips with nutritional yeast. I always avoided this old hippy seasoning, but after trying it on kale chips, I’m a convert. It makes them cheesy and full of umami flavors. Now, I wonder if you can get that in France?

Kathleen

June 5, 2013 6:23pm

Does the nutritional value remain the same after baking like this? Thank you.

Call me a west coaster but I am kale obsessed. I like a lot of Unami flavor in mine– as well as if I am doing the chip thing I prefer to really pile it on so that they are half crispy and half moist when you eat them.

Lynda

June 6, 2013 1:44pm

David,

Thanks for the temperature tip! I had just made kale chips on Sunday evening, thinking we had better eat up from the garden before this kale gets out of control and starts to flower. Is it better to season after baking? The recipe I used called for using only “dry” seasonings on the kale while baking. I misted with olive oil and baked a batch with Spanish smoked paprika and then a batch with za’atar. The red pepper powder sounds great…will try that next.

I think it’s better to salt them after baking, since the salt can dissolve if added before and you miss those “sparks” of salt in there.

Simian

June 6, 2013 2:19pm

i make my kale chips on the lowest temperature possible (50-70 C) overnight. It’s more dehydrated, but very crispy! I rub them with a paste of red pepper, chases, turmeric, cayenne and sea salt whcih gives them a kind of cheesy chips taste…..soooo gooood!

Jen

June 6, 2013 3:33pm

I find a lower oven temp works better too. I really like kale chips, but if they are burned and bitter I don’t enjoy them. When the oven is too hot they can get brown and bitter. About 275 – 300 works for me – though it takes a little longer. When they are done just right, they can really be addicting. The only other little issue is that it takes so much kale to get a decent amount of chips…Just planted some kale seeds about a month ago to help provide more of the green goodness.

If you have a microwave, you can also just nuke them on a paper towel in a single layer for a minute, toss, and nuke again until they’re crisp [2-4 minutes, depending on your microwave]. They’ll stay green and get as crispy as you like in a fraction of the time.

I love kale, my grocery store has even started carrying this baby kale that is even better for eating raw!

Leslie

June 7, 2013 9:02pm

I think the key is a light mist of olive oil and a good massage so that the oil covers all the parts of the kale. You really need very little oil if you massage it well. I love nutritional yeast too or Old Bay Seasoning. 300 degrees is my temp. I can’t wait any longer for them to cook.

One of my happiest cooking coincidence was topping a pizza with kale. When the pizza was done baking in high heat, it was covered with addictive kale chips all over.

Eliza

June 8, 2013 3:19am

After first having kale chips at the Google cafeteria several years ago and falling in love with them, I searched for how to make them. And after trying several methods, for the most consistent and best outcome, I have to follow Jacques Pepin’s lead:

Oven at 250 degree F and placed on wire racks on the baking sheets so the heat circulates all around the kale. They’re baked for 20 – 25 minutes. The lower temp keeps the chips from burning before the others are done which I’ve found is a problem with the higher temp method. If needed (e.g., you live in a humid area), you can re-crisp the chips in an oven for a few minutes.

HELP! We live in the French part of Belgium, and I’ve been scouring our markets for kale. Part of my problem is that I have several different translations for it, all of which produce the wrong product. How do you translate “kale” into French?

Thanks for this and all your wonderful posts. We get to Paris fairly often and we almost always find something you’ve written about. We’re faithful readers.

@Kate in Belgium: The only translation I found is choux frisé – mais je vois le mot kale aussi ici… c’est assez bizarre en fait! I also can buy it in Switzerland, and it’s again called Kale…. sounds obviously fancier than choux frisé! :) Bon app…

Amy

June 9, 2013 1:48am

I love Kale! And seriously, I don’t understand why the rest of the world doesn’t get on board. I live in Zürich, and it’s very hard to by as well here. ohh, and what about Brocolini? what I wouldn’t do for some of that right now

I saw kale at the markets in Lausanne but yes, I love broccolini (and other greens!) Sometimes I can find them at market stands of folks selling Portuguese products. And yesterday, I took a walk through Bercy park and there were potagers (vegetable gardens) with plants grown by children & I saw rainbow chard. So maybe the next generation will bring us more dark, leafy greens! : )

Kate in Belgium

June 9, 2013 7:45am

@Kiki- Thanks for your response. Chou frisee is what my dictionaries mostly say as well, but when I find chou frisee in the markets here it’s not the same thing. I’ll keep asking about kale and see if they can find it. If nothing else, I’ll be remembered as ‘the kale lady’ !

Thanks for the inspiration. Had a bag of kale just waiting for this. I can tell this will be a family favorite.

Jan T.

June 10, 2013 6:50pm

(You don’t necessarily need to post this, I just don’t know how else to contact you.) I recently put an inquiry on Trip Advisor and among the varied responses I received, was one from someone who mentioned that you’re always begging friends/family to bring you American aluminum foil because the French kind is so thin. Is that true? I am planning to come to Paris in September (although that’s not firm) to live for a year, and if it’s true about your liking American foil so much better, I’d get a kick out of bringing you a couple of rolls of foil if you’ll tell me what kind you like. (I’m not much of a cook, but I do like your blog.) Jan T.

Ronald van Doorn

June 10, 2013 10:44pm

@ Kate in Belgium on June 8, 2013 10:55 AM: The Dutch word for Kale is Boerenkool.Maybe you live in the neighborhood of the netherlands?